Medrobotics, Monsieur and Arago get funding

Venture funding is continuing to flow. Three recent recipients: $20 million to Medrobotics, $2 million to Monsieur and $55 million to Arago AG.

Medrobotics, a medical robotics start-up company, has raised $109.3 million in six rounds from a single venture fund: Hercules Technology Growth Capital. The most recent, a $20 million preferred stock financing, just closed.

Boston-based Medrobotics is developing a robotic assist platform that enables surgeons two-handed dexterity with single-site access and visualization. Their Flex System, although not presently available in the US, has received the CE Mark, and therefore has enabled limited marketing and availability in Europe.

Atlanta-based Monsieur, a start-up with a $4,000 robotic bartender, has raised $2 million in seed funding from seven sources including two NFL and NBA sports stars.

“We are in pilot with several NBA arenas, one of the top hotel brands that has over ​4,000​ locations, and​ a popular movie theater brand that has over ​500​ locations. Monsieur will be in at least 3 NBA arenas this basketball season. Those arenas have a total capacity of​ over​ ​110​,000 attendees,” said co-founder and CEO Barry Givens.

Arago AG, a German artificial intelligence firm, received $55 million from New York-based KKR, a private-equity firm, for a minority stake in Arago. Arago AG has developed problem-solving software that lets software correct up to 80% of incidents, disorders and problems in operating systems and applications without human intervention. The software makes decisions like a human administrator and triggers actions automatically.

To start globalizing Arago’s customer base, KKR will introduce the technology to managers among the more than 90 companies in which it owns stakes. Those companies spend a combined $10 billion a year on IT, according to KKR.

Arago AG’s product line is similar to that of a few emerging robotic-like AI softwares that replace human functions but are not really robots.

Frank Tobe is the owner and publisher of The Robot Report, and is also a panel member for Robohub's Robotics by Invitation series.

Frank Tobe is the owner and publisher of The Robot Report, and is also a panel member for Robohub's Robotics by Invitation series.